Shallow Days, Dead Skies Ahead
by Fired Feathers of a Pheonix
Summary: *A collection of oneshots; uploaded sporadically* Their world is imperfect, but when is it ever okay? :Chapter Twelve - ROAD TO NINJA SPECIAL: The further Menma walks away from the village, the further he walks into darkness.
1. Aburame Shino

**Shallow Days, Dead Skies Ahead  
Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

**A/N: **Honestly, I don't know why people don't like Shino. He's funny and adorable.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Aburame Shino  
"**Points of Light**"**

**OoOoOoOoO**

Shino never understood.

There were kids like Naruto and Sasuke that were always alone, and yet, at the same time, they were the talk of the village. Everyone hated them, despised them, spoke badly of them, but still they were recognized, even if they didn't think they were. Shino knew they were, because everyone around them was talking about them.

His thing was, why were _they _noticed, just because they were alone? He was alone too, he was always alone – he had no friends, he had only a father who didn't really suffice as a conversation, and his mother never went near him – so why didn't anyone notice him?

The Aburame Clan's Kekkei Genkai chased everyone away. No one wanted their bugs – his bugs – to 'infest them' (as they said), and no one crowded him with praise (not even the teachers), because, really, his bloodline wasn't something to be jealous of. In fact, it wasn't as if the Aburame had any role in Konohagakure's history (the important parts of it, anyway), so he really didn't have any glory to his family name.

Not that he cared, that is. Popularity wasn't really a fickle food that Shino wanted. And even if he did, he wouldn't want it because of his heritage or bloodline limit. He would want it because he was nice, and friendly, and… and… he would want it for who he was, rather than where he came from.

But he didn't want popularity. His goal of being a shinobi was one thing and one thing only – to protect his village. There was really no other reason – he didn't want to prove himself, he didn't want to show off his strength, or kill anyone, he just wanted to protect his home.

That, however, didn't include his life goal: Shino Aburame wanted nothing but to be noticed. No one talked to him or about him at school, and didn't even bother to look at him. Shino sometimes wondered if he were a ghost…

That is, until one day.

It was February ninth, when Shino was six years old, at eight twenty-three A.M. That day specifically was show and tell, something that only came around once.

Shino had practiced and practiced at home what he was going to say. He rehearsed as if it were an audition. He made sure to speak loud so people would hear him, and he made sure to bring pictures so everyone could pass them around and see the insect he was bringing. This was his chance to show the world he was there, and that he existed.

Things didn't exactly go the way he planned.

"This is the extremely rare Cerambycidae, a species that most thought were already extinct. This insect-" Shino was cut off by – no surprise – Uzumaki Naruto.

"Ehhhhhh? We're wasting our time on a bug?" He dragged out, lying his chin on his hand.

"It's not a bug," a six year-old Shino deadpanned. "It's an insect."

"Ah, who cares? Let's get onto _my _show and tell!"

Iruka slammed his hand down on his desk, "Naruto! You're last name is _Uzumaki! _You have to wait your turn just like everyone else! And don't be so impatient! Shino is only the first kid to go up!"

Shino was glaring at Naruto through his sunglasses. His fists were clenched, wrinkling the pictures he had brought, and frankly, he felt like crying. This was his first chance to have the spotlight, and Naruto took it from him! No one would remember his carefully planned presentation, all they would remember was Naruto running his mouth (as usual)!

Iruka sighed, "Shino, I'm sorry, could you start over- Oi! Where are you going, Shino?"

Shino made his way to the back of the classroom, laying his head into his arms. It was all over. His chance was ruined… All because of that idiot…

"What's his problem, dattebayo?" He heard Naruto mutter, and just after he heard Iruka screaming at him.

It was all over.

After that, it wasn't long before everyone went up and gave their presentations. Almost everyone was interrupted by the loudmouth Uzumaki, and even the only kid who was after Naruto was interrupted because Naruto was complaining about how everyone kept interrupting _him _(for revenge, if nothing else). After show and tell was over, there was a quick review on the proper way to handle a kunai, and then it was off to recess.

Shino went outside alone, as always, making his way out to his usual spot, which was over by the river nearby.

He was stomping around angrily on his way there before he heard, "Hey, wait!"

Shino didn't pay any attention. Whoever it was, they were probably just talking to someone nearby, and the misunderstanding would just bring his day down and-

"Hey, hold on, Shino, was it?"

Shino stopped at the mention if his name. Yes, they were definitely talking to him, but who was it?

Shino craned his head, just to see a boy from his class running after him. He knew he sat two desks in front of him, and was the only kid besides him who was allowed to bring his pet to class. He couldn't quite place his name…

The boy had scraggly, dark brown hair and tanned, rough skin. His eyes were a piercing black color, and on each cheek was an upside down, blood red triangle. The boy stopped just in front of him, panting, his small apricot-colored dog padding around just behind him, sticking out his tongue.

The boy stood up, "Hey, you're Shino, right?"

Shino nodded, staring at the boy who actually knew his name.

The boy held out a piece of paper to him, and at first Shino thought the boy was only there to give him something from Iruka, but then he saw it was a picture – a picture of his insect from show and tell.

"I never got to hear it all, because of that loudmouth Uzumaki. I thought it looked pretty cool, because you dropped this by my desk on accident. So, I just, uh, wanted to know what it did."

Shino's eyes stared at the picture, until he slowly took it into his hands and nodded.

The boy held out a hand, "I'm Inuzuka Kiba, and this is Akamaru, my best friend."

Shino stared at his hand as if it held all of life's secrets. His mother, Kikyue, was originally from the Kazuma clan, and was forced to marry his father to keep the bloodline limit alive. In his entire life, she never tried to take care of him, or be near him, or even hug him. To Shino, Kikyue was the woman down the hall who always locked her door, and only came out when she wanted food. Even then, she wouldn't even look at Shino or his father.

And it wasn't as if his father was affectionate. Shino knew he cared about him, but he wasn't someone who would hug or show physical affection like a pat on the head or those 'tickle fights' he had overheard about.

Physical interaction wasn't something Shino was familiar with. Kids his age, of course, avoided him like the plague, so not even as much as a touch on the shoulder was familiar. For as long as Shino could remember, no one would touch him.

Yet here this kid, Kiba, was, holding out his hand to him – willingly wishing to make contact with him, an Aburame.

Shino's hand was shaking as he lifted his own hand, taking Kiba's hand and giving him a firm shake. The warmth of another person's skin was so soft, so inviting. It made Shino feel happy and warm, and to him, there was nothing he'd rather do than shake Kiba's hand again.

Kiba grinned, "Well, then, come on! We can swap lunches, or something. I have some dango and some leftovers from dinner last night, if you want some."

Shino blinked as Kiba slowly pulled his hand away, "…Swap, lunches?" He had heard of this before, but only friends did that. "I thought only comrades-"

"You idiot! We are comrades- I mean, friends! I mean, we're both in the same class, so why wouldn't we be?" Kiba retorted, a smile pulling at his lips as he scooped Akamaru into his arms.

The young Aburame heir was silent for a moment, but after a couple moments he said, "Of… of course."

Kiba began to run past him, pulling him by the arm as they ran (well, Shino staggered at first, but got the hang of it).

Inuzuka Kiba was Aburame Shino's first friend.

And maybe it wasn't a crowd, but Shino liked it that way. Because Kiba was all the company he needed to be content.

There was a lonely, lonely black void at one point in Shino's life. But light quickly came in, and he no longer waited in the darkness. Before he knew it, there were many little lights, and Shino became the black sky, surrounded by a million little points of light.

These lights were what Shino would soon come to know as "comrades".


	2. Hyuuga Neji

**Shallow Days, Dead Skies Ahead  
Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

**A/N: **SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 614**  
**Neji, I believe that I speak for every Naruto fan when I say this: WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DIE?!

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Hyuuga Neji  
"**Washed**"**

**OoOoOoOoO**

_They always said Neji's fate was set in stone._

He was always struggling – against his uncle, against his clan, against the world, and even his own teammates. He was struggling against some unbeatable force that took him for granted, that wouldn't take Neji as a threat. He beat against stone and bricks, but it was always the same: he ended up bruised and fate – the stone in his life – would win.

He traced the green scar on his forehead at the age of six, making his way to the opposite eyebrow, feeling the rugged skin. His face in the mirror was not his – he wasn't Neji, the child of his clan who had a bright smile. He was Neji _Hyuuga, _the apparent-genius who would show his clan off.

Neji was supposed to show the world what the Hyuuga was capable of – well, no. He was supposed to keep the title of the clan strong, and not weaken its standards. The Hyuuga expected nothing less of imperfection, and when he thought of defying them, when he thought of screwing up, he would see Hinata.

Hinata was imperfect. She wasn't strong, she wasn't elite, and most definitely, she did not meet up to standards. Neji knew that her fate was not his – she would fail no matter what she did. She was a dropout, a loser; and Neji knew more than anyone that once a loser, always a loser.

So he would stand back up and make the greatest grades in the class, angering his "rival" Rock Lee and raising the standards of the Hyuuga.

_They said that Neji would always be a bird held tightly in a cage._

Don't get him wrong; Neji wanted nothing more to be free, to be cured of his curse. He would watch the sky and watch the birds fly, longing for that freedom. It was ironic, really. A boy held down by the chains of fate, choked by water, the society around his world, and yet he wished nothing more than to be his own person.

His fate changed the way he was; from a kind, sweet gentle boy, to a cold, unforgiving man who had lost that childlike innocence in his eyes. That innocence was something he could never be given back again.

_But one voice made everything change._

Uzumaki Naruto – fate's definition of an idiotic loser. Neji knew his words were no more than sandpaper. Maybe they seemed to make a difference, but even if there was a change, the sandpaper itself would be useless in the end. Naruto, to him, was useless. Naruto, to fate, was nothing.

But he kicked and he screamed and he flailed – and to Neji's complete and utter surprise, he broke free from a tangled fate. He was an orphan boy who the village said would never amount up to anything, only cause trouble, and yet, he defeated the Shukaku. He defeated Neji. He defeated anyone who stood against him, beat most of them, changed the rest of them, and led the world to a state of content.

Neji had never seen anything like it. He took another long look at himself, and to the sky, and thought to himself, _Maybe something can change._

Not that anything did, other than his outlook on the world. He was still bound to the clan, the branch family, his idiotic team (excluding Tenten), and the world. He would never fly, never erase the scar on his head, but one voice still echoed in his head.

"_One day, I'll change the Hyuuga!" _And Neji never once again doubted Naruto's words. Not even in the end.

_They all said Neji's fate was set in stone. If told, Neji would argue otherwise._

His eyes grow weary, his breath becomes short. There's an almost unreal pain in his abdomen as he whispers his last words in Naruto's ear. There's a strange, fizzy feeling in his forehead, and he knows it's too late to save himself, but there's something in his heart that lifts.

He's happy.

Neji's happy, because he knows he chose his own death. Fate didn't choose this, and Hiashi watches as his nephew dies in the arms of the village hero.

Neji dies with a smile on his face – all his years of struggling have finally paid off, and he breaks free from fate. He may have been born a genius, but he died a loser who couldn't save himself on the battlefield.

_He thinks of his scar as a marking in the sand. It's driven in by someone else, but one day, the tide will rise, and his fate will be washed away._


	3. Uchiha Itachi

**Shallow Days, Dead Skies Ahead  
Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Uchiha Itachi  
"**Holding On**"**

**OoOoOoOoO**

Itachi began to think he couldn't hold on much longer.

Of course, that was how he felt every time he coughed up blood or fell to his knees from the pain in his chest and in his eyes. But this time was different. Right now, he was such in a state of hopelessness and fear and grief that he really didn't think he could go on.

His fingers trembled as he tried to pop the lid off of his medicine. His arms violently shook as he hiccupped out an ounce of blood, the world fazing in and out as he suddenly felt light-headed.

It was funny. Ironic, more like. The great Uchiha Itachi, known infamously all over the world for the destruction of his clan and his status in the Akatsuki, was huddled in a corner, shaking, coughing up blood, and couldn't even see a couple inches in front of his face to open a plastic lid. Of course, none of these things were what he had dreamed of or wanted, but that didn't really matter right now, did it?

As his vision began to give out again for the eighth time that week, Itachi began to see an image out of the blurry state he was in.

To no surprise, it was Sasuke. A nine month-old old Sasuke with a bright smile, and black shimmering eyes and rosy cheeks was holding onto Itachi's old shirt, also chewing on it thoughtfully. The older brother didn't know why, but that memory was one of his favorites. He could remember coming home from somewhere, he wasn't sure _where _exactly, and coming into his room to find Sasuke chewing on his clothes. Itachi could only hope that was still Sasuke, not the Sasuke that left his village like his brother and joined up with the snaky Orochimaru.

Itachi closed his eyes forcefully, hoping it would stop the pain. It didn't. When he opened his eyes again, he saw his mother smiling, Shisui holding out his hand to him, and his father placing a hand on his shoulder. He could remember so much of them, but he couldn't quite find the happiness that had been with him during those times… other than with Sasuke. Every memory of his brother was filled with fondness, well, most of them. There were a select few that filled him with rage and hatred toward himself, something that could never be directed at Sasuke.

Oh, there had been such hatred for everyone. He hated his father for devising such a horrid, inhumane coup. For making him do such traitorous things, for making him turn against everything he loved and fought for, despite his pacifist ways. Then there was rage at his mother, for going along with it like there was no problem with it, and agreeing for him to be placed in such a position. Anger at Shisui, for not helping him like he thought he would, or giving him the least bit of advice on something he wasn't sure he could do - and leaving him alone to do everything. Then, of course, there was hurt in where the village elders were concerned, for making him… well, even now it was hard to think about.

But there was no rage, anger, hurt, or desire for revenge against his little brother, the only person he couldn't hate, couldn't kill. He could see Sasuke screaming at him, lunging to kill him, crying with desperate tears in hope that it was all a nightmare, and he still couldn't lay a finger on him. It hurt too much to even think of doing. That time, three years ago, when he had seen Sasuke for the first time since the incident. That night, Kisame had to slap him for him to pull his hand out of the fire, a punishment that could never atone for the pain he had caused his brother.

That look in his _eyes_. The Chidori was blazing up by his face, lifting his hair as his eyebrows arched. That extensive pain and hate in his eyes was incomparable to anything he had ever seen. Had he really made him hurt that much? Had it made him into some foul, avenger-crazed maniac that only sought his destruction?

Itachi hurt him. It was the painful, devastating, hopeless truth. He had hurt his little brother, after promising himself time and time again that he would never let anything even come close to touching him.

It was the hardest promise to break out of them all.

Tears flooded Itachi's blurred eyes as his fingers continued to fumble with the medicine. His breath was short and his mind felt like it was trying to claw out his skull, and he couldn't take it.

Itachi threw the plastic bottle down on the cement flooring. He covered his eyes with his hands and sobbed, shaking and still bleeding.

His brother, his loving little brother… The one who didn't deserve any of this…

There was a hand on Itachi's shoulder and he stopped sobbing at once as he shot his head up. He couldn't see anything except for a colorful blue and black blob in front of him. For a moment, his heart rose.

"Sasuke?" He breathed, but his vision cleared and saw Kisame's pale eyes filled with pity. Itachi was probably the only person Kisame would ever give that look to.

Kisame handed him the now-open pill bottle, "Here, try not to take too much."

Itachi's eyes watched the bottle, but he didn't take it, "I can't do this anymore."

"Not even for your brother?" Kisame reasoned.

Itachi thought about it for a moment. He was right. Itachi started this mess; he was the one who asked for it, not Sasuke. His brother needed closure, and he would give him closure and hoped it led him on the right path. It was his fault now that his brother was suffering. In fact, his brother was probably suffering even more than himself, and that was all he could imagine. His brother alone, in the cold and lonely world…

Itachi took the medicine bottle. If Sasuke was suffering, he might as well too.

"Thanks."


	4. Senju Tsunade

**Shallow Days, Dead Skies Ahead  
Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

**A/N: **Jiraiya is such a dummy. But he's Tsunade's dummy.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Senju Tsunade  
"**That Dummy**"**

**OoOoOoOoO**

"Hi! I'm Jiraiya! You can send me my love letters later!"

Tsunade stared at his hand held out to her, a prick sticking in the back of her neck. What did he just say? Why in the hell would she _ever _send _him _a love letter? He was gross! He had unnatural white hair and a wart on his nose! Plus, those freaky red lines on his cheeks…

A Senju like herself would never _ever _be in love – or love – a weirdo like him.

So in response, she slammed her knuckles into his jaw.

"Senju Tsunade!" She shouted at him. "And don't you ever think I'd ever like a weirdo like you!"

His black eyes stared at her, wide with surprise. A perverted grin shimmied onto his face, "Feisty, huh? I like 'em that way!"

In which she swung the top of her foot into his rib cage.

Dummy.

_Tsunade's heels clapped against the floor, echoing through the walls. She tightened and unclasped her fists._

"I can't believe we're Genin!" Jiraiya squealed, arms held out by his sides like a bird. He placed one foot in front of the other, keeping balance on the side of a wooden bridge. Tsunade only held her hands at her hips, glaring at him. Next to her, the impassive Orochimaru only watched Jiraiya with impassive eyes.

"Too bad it's with you," Tsunade growled. "Orochimaru is fine, but you?"

Jiraiya's face puckered like he had just tasted something sour, "Well, I don't like Orochimaru. Though I really, really don't mind you. Hey! Do you think sensei will let us go to a unisex bath?"

BAM!

Splash.

Orochimaru shook his head as Tsunade shouted at Jiraiya from the bridge, the latter spitting up water from the river below.

_Her long footsteps suddenly became short, and her speed decreased by half. She couldn't find her breath._

Tsunade ruffled Jiraiya's hair, "Oh, don't worry Jiraiya! I'm sure you'll catch up!"

Jiraiya scowled, "Why is it only you two that get to be Chuunin?! I'm _the _amazing Jiraiya!"

Orochimaru sighed, adjusting his new Chuunin vest, "You have little-to-none maturity Jiraiya. That's why."

"Maturity has nothing to do with it!"

"Yes, it does, Jiraiya," Hiruzen spoke up, looking at Jiraiya with disapproving eyes. "If you had used your brains instead of your raw strength in the third stage of the exams, you might be wearing a vest right now."

Jiraiya crossed his arms, "Oh, whatever! You know, I'm gonna go talk to Gamabunta! He gets it!"

Orochimaru smiled, "Guess I was right. Snake beats toad every time."

Jiraiya's eyebrow twitched, but he didn't say anything. He just stormed out of the room, closing the door shut behind him.

Tsunade would have never guessed that Jiraiya would be the greatest of the three.

_She couldn't feel her chest. She felt no weight on her physical body, but at the same time, her heart felt full of dread._

_The weight was incomparable to anything she had ever felt before._

She stared at him from afar.

This wasn't the moment where she realized she was in love with him – no, it certainly wasn't that, Dan was the only one she would ever see that way – but it was in this moment she realized how strong he was.

Jiraiya was alone his entire life. No family like hers, but at the same time, he hadn't lost his parents like Orochimaru had. His mother gave him up before he could even smile. He never met her. He had no idea about his father.

He always carried his own weight. Fought his own battles, both in his heart and on the battlefield, and stood no matter what happened.

She could tell he wanted to fall. Nevertheless, he didn't. He just stared out into the rain, eyes watching the village outside.

His students were dead – Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan, if she remembered correctly. He spent three years with them, training them, forming bonds with them, and now, they were dead.

He always bragged about how Nagato would bring peace to the world. Laughed when he retold a rather superfluous fishing story that Yahiko messed up. And smile with a faraway look in his eye when he told them how beautiful and deadly Konan was.

But they were dead, and those things didn't matter anymore.

She sighed, her chestnut eyes swelling. They had to get to the Hokage's office, they had to tell him the details of their mission they had abandoned because of Jiraiya.

He told them they didn't have to go – but his teammates knew him better than that. He needed time to heal, despite his pleas to stay on the mission. He was just trying to stay strong, he always was. He wouldn't show his weaknesses now – just like a true shinobi.

Tsunade set a hand on Jiraiya's shoulder, inaudibly gasping when she saw his tears streaming past the red lines on his face.

He didn't look at her, though. He just whispered, "Pain makes people grow up, huh."

_She fumbled in her footsteps, her shoulder smacking into the wall._

Jiraiya's smile.

Jiraiya's voice.

Jiraiya's heart.

Jiraiya's mistakes.

Jiraiya's quests.

Jiraiya's books.

Jiraiya's wisdom.

Jiraiya's jokes.

Jiraiya.

It was all gone. And it was her fault.

_Tears fell down Tsunade's face, and her breath hitched in her throat. She sobbed, hoping no one heard her, that no one would see her like this._

_That idiot. He messed everything up, as usual. He made her cry._

"_That… that dummy," Tsunade whispered._

_She just wished she could be as strong as him._


	5. Inuzuka Tsume

**Shallow Days, Dead Skies Ahead  
Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

**A/N: **Just to clarify, Tsume is Kiba's mother, for those who don't know. Kuromaru is her one-eyed, one-eared wolf.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Inuzuka Tsume**  
**"**The Loyalty**"**

**OoOoOoOoO**

In Tsume's clan, the Inuzuka, there was a common happening that was known as The Loyalty. As every Inuzuka was, hardly anyone managed to earn their respect. They were used to dominance, to not bowing down to people because of their pride. (It was funny; actually, because they were often nicknamed The Dogs of Konoha; which wasn't true, Inuzuka's did what they wanted to do.)

But sometimes, there was that one person or creature that an Inuzuka would suddenly respect – for any reason, really. That person was identified as their master, and for as long as they lived, they would stay loyal to the first person who managed their respect. That was actually how the Inuzuka ended up in Konohagakure in the first place, because their former leaders decades ago, Han and Zukomaru, had The Loyalty for Senju Harashima, and since then the Inuzuka had remained among the leaves.

Almost every Inuzuka had a loyalty to someone, and Tsume was no different. However, this person wasn't exactly a _person, _per say, it was… well, Kuromaru.

She respected the dog to every extent. She actually had a puppy before him (she can't remember his name nowadays), but the dog died due to a raid in the village when she was ten. The Inuzuka kept offering her new dogs, but she would never accept.

That is, until a rivaling clan of the Inuzuka's captured Tsume. It was in the middle of the night when they struck, and Tsume barely had any time to scream before they had bagged her. It was two days later when she realized they had dropped her off on an icy mountain alone to die.

She had never been so helpless. She was in her pajamas in the freezing blizzard, staggering to find shelter, all alone with no such help as even a blanket. It wasn't long before Tsume lost consciousness.

To her surprise, she woke up. She wasn't expecting to, considering the circumstances. But even then, she didn't expect to be warm at all.

Yet there she was, curled into the underbelly of a small wolf her size, in the strong shelter of a stone cave, with an entire pack of wolves on all sides of her. She looked up at the dog she was curled into – a black and white wolf that was sleeping soundly, just as all the others.

A strong tug yanked in her chest, and tears welled in her eyes as she pulled closer to the dog, scratching his head. "Good dog," she whispered, her lips frozen. "Good, good dog."

She began to giggle when the wolf began to lick her cheek, making her numb skin warm. She held onto him, still whispering, "Good dog, good dog…"

It was weeks before her clan found her, cooking meat over a roaring flame with a dozen wild wolves surrounding her, and her laughing like she was long-lost friends with them. Her dad had face-palmed at the sight of her, growling, "All of that worry, for nothing! Sheesh, Tsume!"

When she went home, she missed Kuromaru (the wolf's name) and the pack more than she had even missed her first hound. She thought she was going to run away just to be with them, but a couple days later she woke up to Kuromaru lying on her doorstep, waiting for her.

She'd never been happier. It was awhile before she realized her Loyalty had been dedicated to him for saving her life up in the mountains.

Everyone stared at her like she was crazy, even those in her clan. She was the first ever Inuzuka to declare her loyalty to her pup, and for it, everyone thought she was insane. She didn't care, though, it was her life and Kuromaru's life, and no one could get in the way of that.

Tsume would walk around as the village idiot for all she cared. With Kuromaru at her side, Tsume felt like she was indestructible, but more importantly, she was happy.

And if she was happy, then Kuromaru was happy, and together they walked into war, laughing as explosives detonated, crying when comrades fell, and holding onto each other as their world fell apart.


	6. Yahiko

**Shallow Days, Dead Skies Ahead  
Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

**A/N: **The whole reason why Yahiko created the Akatsuki, why he craved for peace, and why he believed his country was weak. This is his reason.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Yahiko  
"**His Reason**"**

**OoOoOoOoO**

His eyes were always full of light. That was why people loved his father. He could inspire anyone just by looking into their eyes. That was how his mother fell in love with him. That was how he got his best friend to jump into a whirlpool with him (a story Yahiko always heard when they were together).

Yahiko inherited these eyes. Everyone always said it was like looking at his father when he was a kid. His grandfather would always pat him on the head and say, "Like father, like son, like grandson!"

It always made him laugh.

But now it made him want to cry.

His father's eyes suddenly lost their life as a kunai ripped itself through his back and through his chest. He stumbled, gasping, blood pooling at his lips. It was all he could do not to scream.

"Be… brave…" His father whispered, the life leaving him. "Don't… cry…"

Yahiko trembled inside the cabinet, pushing back into a cereal box. Three shinobi grinned, the one who had killed him knelt down next to him, grabbing by the hair. His father didn't try to wriggle out of his grasp. All of his energy was gone.

"What? Trying to motivate yourself? Please." His evil dark eyes glimmered in the lamplight. Yahiko heard his mother made a noise – something in between a moan and a sob. Both of her arms were held by either shinobi. "Oh. He's already dead. Oops."

His voice was so devoid of emotion. So cruel. So _evil._

Yahiko didn't blink as he reached into his pouch, his sand-colored vest dotted with red drops of blood. Blood was such a strange color – it wasn't crimson, it was a dark, dead color - almost black. It wasn't any color Yahiko ever thought it was.

The young four year old tensed when he saw the shinobi twirling a black knife on his pointer finger. _Please don't find me. Please don't find me._

But he didn't even know the toddler was even there. Instead, he took a grip on the knife and ran it into his father's eye. His mother screamed. He almost screamed, he was tempted to, but his terror was bubbling in his throat.

He unsheathed the kunai from his father's eye socket, blood running out like a faucet. He used the point of the knife to begin carving words into his father's forehead. Yahiko covered his mouth, trying to forget what he had eaten for breakfast. He didn't want to see it come back.

When he was done, he dropped his father's head, his skull thudding against the stained floors. By this time, his mother wasn't even standing anymore, her knees weak. The shinobi were holding her up by the arms, as she sobbed.

"Oh, god, oh, god, oh god," She cried, most of her words incoherent. The evil one who killed his dad laughed.

"So it's true – Amegakure really is weak. They're all just babies who cry like their country does, huh?"

At this, his mother's beautiful spindrift eyes shot up, anger boiling over the surface. Her hoarse voice cried, "You're _wrong_!"

He laughed, "And yet you still cry!"

Her voice became venom, "I swear to god, if some bastard comes into your house and kills your family, and you can't do anything about it, and _you_ cry, you'll think twice about what you just said to me!"

"Hate to break it to ya, bitch, but I wish my deadbeat wife was dead half the time. Same goes to my whore of a daughter."

"You're horrible!" She screeched.

The man just stared at the kunai with the darkened blood on it, smiling, shaking his head. "Drop her," he ordered the two, so they did. She fell to the floor right away. She was still crying.

He knelt down by her side, and Yahiko covered his eyes, but was peeking through his fingers. He could see them past his father's dead body; his sadistic grin and her burning eyes.

He held the very same knife to his mother's neck, pressing into her skin. Yahiko inaudibly whimpered when he saw blood. "Here," he whispered, just loud enough so he could hear him over the rain outside. "I'll give you a proposal. I'll let you live if you admit to me that your country is weak, your husband is a coward, and that everything you have ever stood for is trash."

She eyed him for a moment, not speaking, "And if I don't?"

"I think we both know the answer to that, sweetheart."

Yahiko balled his hands into fists.

It was the longest moment of his life. He cupped his hand around her chin, the other still pressing a kunai to his mother's neck. Her mouth was half-open, the tears staining her cheeks. She wasn't crying anymore, but her eyes were still wet, making the green color more vibrant in the dark lighting. Her beautiful lips trembled, and she whispered,

"I refuse."

Blood fell to the floor, and the sound of water rushing ran through Yahiko's ears.


	7. Uzumaki Naruto

**Shallow Days, Dead Skies Ahead  
Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Uzumaki Naruto  
"**Complicated**"**

**OoOoOoOoO**

Uzumaki Naruto didn't get it. He didn't get it at all.

Why did he love her? Why was he attracted to Haruno Sakura of all girls? He could have gone for Hyuuga Hinata and her frail personality, or Yamanaka Ino, who was known for her dashing beauty. Any girl would have taken him at this point – he saved the village countless times, brought Sasuke back, is up for the title of Hokage in two weeks, stopped a war and a blood-thirsty Juubi, and still, the only girl who won't look at him that way is Haruno Sakura.

She's still too busy looking at Sasuke. In all honesty – and he meant this not as an insult, but the truth – he didn't know why she would like a traitor of the village as much as the hero of the village. What was it? Did she just like bad boys or something?

What did bad boys give you in the end, huh? All it ever gave to Sakura was a broken heart. Hell, even Karin (his own cousin!) was shocked through with his FRIGGIN CHIDORI and _still _refused to give up on him.

Naruto gave Sakura the world and everything beyond that. He cared for her, told her she was beautiful, stared at her with genuine kindness, dried her tears, brought back the boy of her dreams, treated her to ramen (despite her pleas to go elsewhere), kept all of his promises to her (and then some), yet _even then she would not look at him that way._

What would it take? Would he have to die for her to notice him? Uzumaki Naruto would never understand. Sasuke did not love her, he told her this time and time again, but she wouldn't give in. Maybe she was just as stubborn as Naruto. Maybe her love was blind. She couldn't see that Sasuke just wasn't interested.

Then again, that was his problem too. Why couldn't he just accept Sakura would never love him? Why couldn't he accept the countless times she used him, played with his feelings? She told him she loved him a long time ago (okay, not that long ago, but with the war and everything else, it seemed like forever ago), but didn't mean it. She was manipulating him.

She was using him.

She hated him. She'd said it before – and no doubt she'll say it again – that he was annoying and in the way. To her, Naruto was just an annoying bug she would crush so that she would have Sasuke.

Yet still, despite this, he still swooned over every flash of pink he would see. He loved Sakura, no matter what, and it would always stay that way.

He wished that he could just love Hinata, a girl who had already admitted her feelings to him. But he wouldn't, because he knew he didn't, and he promised to never play with someone's feelings like that. Besides, despite their arguments, he was close to Kiba, and he knew that he had feelings for the violet-haired wonder. He wouldn't do that to his old friend.

"Hey, dobe, you there?"

Naruto snapped out of his thoughts, taking his eyes off of Sakura who was a ways off, talking to Ino and Shizune about… something.

Sasuke watched him with his midnight black eyes, "What is it?" His voice was cool and smooth as honey, his face ever impassive. After all of the years of a so-called "severed bond", they became close again. Best friends or rivals, Naruto wasn't sure, but hey, he'd take any form of friendship at this point.

He sighed, slouching against the wall, "I don't get it, 'tebayo."

Sasuke stared at him, as if waiting for him to continue.

"I mean," he started. "For years I pined after her, loving her, and for what? The only guy she can see is you."

Sasuke looked at Sakura, understanding who his idiot teammate was talking about. Sasuke let out a small breath of exhausted air, "Sakura is stubborn."

"Oh, really? What else is new?"

"You two are alike, in that sense."

"Yeah, I know dattebayo."

Sasuke rolled his shoulder, silent. Naruto knew that when he got like this he was thinking. His eyebrow twitched, and his face twisted into a grimace. "Maybe she… just, I don't know. I've tried to get her off my back, believe me, but she's like a wild orangutan. Once she latches on, she won't let go."

Naruto hissed, "Thanks for the pep talk."

"Maybe you should just get over her."

"That's the thing – I don't want to."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

He closed his eyes, "How do I say this… she's, she's sweet when she wants to be. Her eyes just take me places, and honestly, she… She's… I don't, I can't…" Naruto had to stop himself, resting his head in his hands. "The second I got my eye on her, she's the only girl I can think about. She has so many flaws, and yet I… I think that the good things about her override her flaws. She's…"

"I may not be the best at this, dobe, but I'm going go out on a limb here and say she doesn't deserve you."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke quizally, "Huh?"

The last Uchiha closed his eyes, "What I'm saying is that you would get down on your hands and knees and kiss her putrid feet, but she wouldn't think twice about breaking your heart. Sakura is still naïve. She doesn't understand what it's like to really love someone, or really feel the way you do about someone. Yes, she says I've got good looks. She says I'm mysterious, but would she ever take the time to tell me anything about my good qualities?

"She might know my favorite color, she might have said she wanted to leave with me, but… she tried to kill me. That's why I don't think she loves me. If she really loved me, she wouldn't have come at me with a kunai."

Naruto stared at Sasuke, taking in his words.

"Sakura doesn't love me. She just has to realize that you were the one who stood by her side for three long years, not me. Once she does, she'll come around. You just have to be patient."

Naruto sighed, looking back at his female teammate. He hadn't looked at it that way. Was Sakura really in love with Sasuke? Or was she just bent on a childhood crush? She broke up a friendship over the boy, but did she want to be with Sasuke, or did she just want to become her own person and not suck up to Ino all day?

Then again, could Sakura ever see that? Would she ever open her eyes, see him – Naruto – for who he was and what he would give her? God, he would give her his entire soul and being if he could… He just couldn't understand how _one girl _could make things so… so complicated!

The Uzumaki closed his eyes, aggravated, "I still don't get it."

"Neither do I, Naruto," Sasuke admitted. "Neither do I."


	8. Uchiha Sasuke

**Shallow Days, Dead Skies Ahead  
Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

**A/N: **I couldn't decide on a title for this one. There are a lot of underlying themes in this oneshot, because as annoying as he is, Sasuke's depth as a character is amazing. Masashi is really good at his character, because whenever Sasuke _does _show up or do something major, it sticks with you because you have no idea what he's thinking. There's so many ways to take his character, and I love that about him. (Though I really wish he'd go back to the village already.)

So I guess since he's such a hard character to decipher – because he can be dyed in any color, as Itachi said – I couldn't decide on a title. So, yeah. Sorry about the long Author Note.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Uchiha Sasuke  
"**Old Habits Die Hard**"  
or  
"**Losing Light**"**

**OoOoOoOoO**

_Sasuke lost his light years ago, back on the day he lost his family. He began to receive it again, but he realized that now, he was going to lose it again without them._

The second Uchiha Sasuke joined up in Team Seven, he knew he would break their hearts.

_He stared at the picture. His sensei, his all-too-wise sensei for his young age, was ruffling him and his dobe of a teammate's hair, a smile hidden behind his mask. His female teammate was smiling childishly, her cheeks pink. The two boys – he and his dobe – were glaring at each other._

This wasn't because he didn't love Sakura like she loved him. It was because he knew he would become close to them, and within just the first couple of days, he did. Sure, Naruto was an annoying dobe, Sakura was just an annoying selfish girl, and Kakashi was annoyingly mysterious, but…

Uzumaki Naruto. They could have become friends years ago. Good friends, too. But they were too lost in their pride and their grief of loneliness and their differences to really come up to one another and try. He was annoying, yes, but determined. That was something Sasuke liked about him – once Naruto set his heart on something, it would be done, and it would be done the best he could. He was a strong shinobi. He really was. And, as weird as it was to say, he was cool (in a weird, unpredictable knuckle-headed kind of way).

Haruno Sakura. She was always a "I'll-do-anything-to-have-you" kind of girl. Was she naïve? Yes. A little slutty? If she had to be, if he wanted her to be. Maybe she was just too blindly in love, but whatever it was, she was also a little brave. Not completely, not until it really came down to the matter of the situation, but she was brave all the same. A self-respecting Kunoichi, one that would do anything to get what she wanted, and what her comrades needed. Even if she were a little blind, and a little blunt, she was still a good comrade.

Hatake Kakashi. He was the freak with the mask and the one with the mysterious Sharingan. (Seriously, where the hell did he get it?) Perverted and unwilling to show up on the time he set – that was always how Kakashi made himself out to be. But on their first mission to the Land of Waves, Kakashi uttered the words, "Don't worry, Sasuke. I won't allow my comrades to die. Trust me." And he did. He really did trust Kakashi. There was an odd sense of comfort there, and he wasn't about to let Kakashi get hurt. He didn't want to see any of his friends get hurt.

_With a guilty, hesitant heart, Sasuke set the picture down. He didn't want to remember the happy memories. He didn't exactly deserve them for what he was about to do._

But in the end, he was the one who made them cry. Sasuke was the reason Naruto woke up every morning raring to get stronger, ready to do the impossible to bring back his rival, his best friend. He was the one who wounded their sensei's heart, even though it had been broken so many times already. Sakura…. Especially Sakura, who he left, torn apart, was crying in her sleep on a cement bench.

They were the comrades he yearned so much for, for so many years of his self-isolation. They were the comfort that he wanted but he tried not to have, in fear for his own heart's safety. There was a part of him that tried to refuse it, to refuse them, but it was a regular human necessity for interaction. It was bound to happen sooner or later, especially since he wanted to re-populate the Uchiha clan. Still, he didn't want them.

But they were all so nice to him (except for when Kakashi lectured him, or when Naruto's jealousy rose to certain levels), so accepting of his dark past. Naruto was even willing to taking Sasuke's pain on his own shoulders.

…He was always willing to go so far for people he didn't know. Maybe he didn't understand Sasuke, but he was willing to try. He really was.

But he broke them, all of them. He had only himself to blame, especially when he found out the truth behind his clan's demise, the truth behind Itachi's reasoning. If only he had opened his eyes when he was younger, if he had only seen through his big brother's façade, maybe he would have never hurt his friends.

_Sasuke didn't want to lose his light. But in order to achieve revenge, he would have to. And with a heavy heart, he turned away from the picture. Uchiha Sasuke turned away from his light._

Sasuke stared at Naruto, his own hand blazing with lightning. Naruto's eyes were glowing gold, two exact clones standing on either side of him. Their hands were joined in the middle, a bright blue sphere forming in their midst.

He put this on himself – Sasuke, that is. If he had just listened to Naruto in the first place, years ago at the Valley of the End, maybe they wouldn't be here now. Maybe, they might have even been fighting together.

"Sasuke," Naruto whispered. "I told you this already, but I'm not going to be the hero that kills you. I'll save you, Sasuke."

He'll save him? What a laugh. Sasuke was down too deep in black water to find the surface again. He broke too many hearts to be forgiven, anyway. He didn't know why Naruto was ready to forgive him.

"Naruto, tell me – why are you so willing to forgive me? I've hurt you in the past, and no doubt it will happen again. Why are you so obsessed?" He wondered aloud, wanting an answer. He had been wondering this since he left.

Naruto stared at him, his face impassive. "You're my best friend. If you kill me today, I will forgive you. If you continue to run away from the village, I'll forgive you. Because I know there is still a light within you, Sasuke. It's faint, but I know it's there."

The Uchiha scoffed, "How _fairytale_ of you, dobe. But you might as well get out of here now – because I will kill you if we fight, and even if I don't, you won't find any light within me."

A smile lifted to his friend's face, "I just did, _teme_."

Sasuke's eyes widened. He hadn't even meant to call Naruto "dobe". It had slipped out when he fell back into their old bantering system. Old habits die hard, he guessed. He narrowed his eyes again, slipping his katana out of its sheath.

Honestly, he kind of missed his old "teme" nickname. But he wasn't about to tell him that. And he wasn't about to let the knucklehead get to him get to him.

Sasuke raised his sword, but for the first time in a long time, it didn't seem like a lethal gesture. It was as if they were just going to spar, like teammates, and not enemies.

Naruto's face softened, "See? I told you. You haven't lost your light just yet, Sasuke. Not while I'm still here."

"Are we going to fight or talk?" Sasuke somewhat threatened, a small twitch of his lips turning his face to a playful smirk. "Or are you too afraid, scaredy-cat?"

The Uzumaki laughed, "Only if you are." He raised the Rasen-Shuriken, his eyes shining. "I won't show mercy, Sasuke!" He cried, staring forward.

Sasuke bolted forward, "Then neither will I, Naruto!"

The second Uchiha Sasuke joined up in Team Seven, he knew he would break their hearts. But maybe, just maybe, he could work to make the four whole again.

_Years later, Sasuke returned to the old picture. It was still faced-down, coated with a thick layer of dust. With a blank face, he lifted the frame, looking at his teammates back then. A smile lifted to his lips, and he laughed._

"_Not a lot has changed, has it?"_


	9. Hatake Kakashi

**Shallow Days, Dead Skies Ahead  
Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Hatake Kakashi  
"**Want**"**

**OoOoOoOoO**

When referring to Hatake Kakashi, most people say he's much like a lone wolf. When referring to himself, Kakashi says he would love to be anything but.

Of course, most kids with a life similar to his would think the same thing. Yes, he's very distant and cruel after his father's self-inflicted demise, but at the same time, he can't help but hope someone will come along and say the right thing to him. What he wants to hear is that his father did the right thing. What he wants to hear is that no matter what he does, someone will always love him.

However, most of these are a given, and no one bothers to say it, not even Minato. Minato was an evasive person himself – Kakashi finds irony in his speedy jutsu – and while emotional confrontation is a strong point to him, he can't look a newly orphaned kid in the eye. It breaks his heart, and he tries to soothe them without making them feel worse.

Phrases like "it'll be okay" and "I understand" don't help Kakashi at all, though. Kushina, his sensei's girlfriend, tries to reason with him. But again, Kakashi is distant and cruel, and doesn't want to listen to "I understand"; because even if Kushina does, it doesn't make him feel any less lonely at all. In fact, her own experience with her lost village just makes him realize how this world is full of despair and grief and that no one can change it. All people can do is cope.

This makes him angry – no, furious. Well, even that's an understatement. He doesn't want to "cope". Kakashi doesn't want to know "it'll be okay", because it won't. And it's the cold, undeniable truth of the shinobi world. And even if he doesn't want to cope, he does, because it's the only thing that makes him feel human, and not as a tool for war.

Kakashi's method for coping is one thing and one thing only: live by the rules of the shinobi. Anything against it, like relationships with people or emotion, doesn't follow, and without them, Kakashi feels indestructible. Without love, or happiness, the young, orphaned Hatake can't be hurt. For one to feel sadness, they would need compassion to balance it out. Without compassion, he has no pain.

There are still times when Minato (attempts) to talk with him, or hug him, that he wants to rebuild those bonds he used to have with his sensei before it all happened. He watches as Uchiha Obito plays on the playground with that Rin girl, and wants a companion. Maito Gai almost makes him feel like he should enjoy his youth, but he doesn't. He just needs to be alone, because it's safer that way.

It's not a perfect system for him. Without happiness, all he has is grief, and he can't quite figure that out. He wants people, he does, but he makes it on his own instead. The grief weighs on him like lead, a feeling his mistakes for not enough sleep – he's too busy reciting shinobi rules – or training too hard (which is the only other activity he has). Out of all of this heartache, Kakashi soon finds the word "want" in many of his musings.

"Want" isn't something Kakashi understands. It's a misconception of need. Kakashi "needs" to eat for energy. Kakashi "needs" to learn how to increase his speed to avoid attacks. But, the word "want" slowly starts to come up more than "need", and he doesn't understand. He doesn't care if he's hurt – the hospital can fix almost anything. He doesn't "want" to learn to fight, he "needs" to learn to fight.

He doesn't "need" people. Yet slowly, as his team forms, as they fight alongside each other, as Rin heals him, as he argues with Obito, as he takes advice from Minato, he "wants" to be with them. There's something that doesn't feel like lead in him, more like the sweet taste of caramel, only, it's in his heart. While he studies past general strategies at home, he suddenly wants – "wants" – to be training with them. It's a concept of Kakashi's mindset he just can't place. He needs to study for preparation in battle, but he wants to be with them. Why is that?

The war between "need" and "want" is a battle he fights until the day Obito dies. Obito tells him all he's wanted to hear for so long – that his father, Hatake Sakumo, is a hero, and what he did was right. Rin confesses her love for him, even though it was all his fault they lost Obito… dear, dear, Obito. Even though he was trash, that he abandoned her, she still loves him.

It's what he always wanted. However, he can't have the second one, because he realizes there are emotional limitations to "want". He wants Rin to love him, even if he doesn't feel the same way, but Obito loved her more; cherished her more than he ever did. To Obito, Rin was his entire world. And just because he's dead doesn't mean it's okay to have her.

But as he takes on this "want" necessity, he begins to lose the people he loves, that he's come to care for. Rin dies at his own hand, Minato dies after taking an oath to protect the village with his life, and people he started to come close to – like Gai – he begins to become cold. Well, not like he used to be, but cold all the same.

Because again, all he hears is "it'll be okay" and "I understand". It's an old pain that resurfaces, and he hides behind an ANBU mask for several years, trying to forget compassion. Kakashi tries to make his mindset back to the way it was before the day Obito died, but he can't. With a heaving heart, he returns the cracked ANBU mask, replacing it with his old one, and tries to figure out what to do with himself.

These feelings of love and compassion are almost gone to him now. Before he realizes it, the only things he can care for is Jiraiya, and even that is almost nothing; and the village, who his loyalty has never dwindled for before.

It's this that he tells Sarutobi Hiruzen – well, the part about not having really anyone – to which the Sandaime replies, "Well, Uzumaki Naruto will be a Genin in… well, hopefully, a year. You could take on a team?"

He has to mull it over. With a team comes new bonds, new heartaches that will one day come to haunt him. Kakashi isn't the nurturing type. But then the thought crosses his mind that whoever teaches Naruto in his place will hate him, and being the second-in-line to take care of him (besides the lazy Jiraiya), he has a responsibility. He's probably one of the very few… well, probably the only Jounin who loves Naruto enough to do it right.

With a hesitant heart, he agrees to the Sandaime's proposal, and in one year, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura will become his students.

Years later, Kakashi realizes he was right about the heartache.


	10. Nara Shikaku

**Shallow Days, Dead Skies Ahead  
Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

**A/N: **Another installment of SD,DSA. I just wanted to take this moment and thank anyone who has read this, because even if I don't have many reviews, I have the one and I can see that many people look at this through the traffic. Thank you very much!

I've also changed my penname. I want to be a serious writer, and XxGaaraXRukixX just sounded too kiddish.

As for this chapter, I really do love Shikaku. For those who don't know -SPOIIIILERRRR! - Shikaku dies. It was recently, actually. This was inspired off the scene where you hear his last words. Have tissues prepared.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Nara Shikaku  
"**Father**"**

**OoOoOoOoO**

Despite popular belief, Nara Shikaku has absolutely no intuition when it comes to children. He honestly doesn't remember being a child himself, as he was raised in times of war, and being an Academy child, that's what everyone talked about: war.

They told him time and time again that to hesitate was to die, and to die was to ensure the loss of the village. He was told time and time again to destroy the enemy on sight, no exceptions. He was a smart kid, and they – meaning the village superiors – would use every ounce of that skill to their advantage until he was dried out. When they were done with him, they would throw him away, just like all the other shinobi.

He didn't like it all that much – because where shinobi were concerned, those were his friends, and to him, they weren't expendable. Chouza was a kind, yet strongly will-powered, and Inochi was his brother in arms. They were his friends.

So the teachers tried different tactics with him. Instead of worrying for the village, they said, he should worry about his friends instead. If he didn't fight to the death, they certainly would, and he would lose them. So he fought, trained mentally and physically, and used every skill he could. His power, however, did not dwindle, like they thought it would. Instead, it grew, but his childhood fell beneath him before his seventh birthday.

Shikaku doesn't even remember the games he liked to play, unless you would count "who can hit closest to the target". But even then, it was all training, and it isn't something his son, Nara Shikamaru, likes.

He finds that when Shikamaru is three, he's lying outside, staring at the sky with no interest, no drive, nothing in his eyes, or even in his posture. "It's the times of peace," Yoshino tries to tell him, when he mentions it sourly for the nth time. "Honestly, dear, if he wants to relax, let him. He won't have his childhood forever. Let him enjoy it while he can."

So Shikaku shuts up, but it doesn't take long for him to realize he has no idea _what _to do with his son. Shouldn't fathers play with their children? Lead them on the right path? Protect them? Walk them to school? He tries to play with him, but Shikamaru is merely interested in the air and the sky, the leaves swaying in the breeze. It's everything that Shikaku never looked at, because he was never carefree enough to, so he can't see what Shikamaru sees.

"What's out there, Shikamaru?" Shikaku asked him, as his five-year old stared into nothing.

"Everything," the boy simply replied.

"What's everything?"

"Dreams and answers," Shikamaru whispered nostalgically, just as only a child could. He touched his fingertips together, resting his hands on his abdomen.

Puzzled, Shikaku could only look to the sky, but all he saw were blues and splashes of white. There are no answers there, although, he figures, maybe Shikamaru is dreaming of flying one day. He can't understand how, but he's sure that if Shikamaru is as smart as he is, then he'll make it happen.

And he realizes that Shikamaru _is _brilliant. By age seven, he's balancing out Yoshino's checkbook, his only reason being that she was doing it wrong (much to Yoshino's embarrassment). When they're standing in the check-out line at the store, he whispers things under his breath as the checker swipes their groceries. When they're all calculated, Shikamaru will whisper a number, and the same number will appear on the screen a moment later. It doesn't take long for Shikamaru to really get it down, that he begins to whisper the number before they even reach the check-out line.

However, he's always bringing in D's and F's on his report card. Umino Iruka constantly complains of his son's laziness, and it's all Shikaku can do to get out of there in one piece. He figures that maybe Shikamaru just needs a stern conversation.

When they get home, he asks Shikamaru to follow him out into the forest, where they can talk alone before Yoshino screams at him. Of course, it's all pretty useless, because Shikaku is going to do the same thing.

"Shikamaru," he growls after they reach a certain point in the forest. Shikamaru only sighs, a hand lazily laying on his hip, the other shoved into his pocket. The boy is looking at anything but his dad. "Shikamaru!" Shikaku tries again.

This time, he receives an answer, "What, what?"

The aging Nara sighs, "Why do you keep failing at school?"

"It's too boring, I can't stay up."

Shikaku turns to his son, his fist clenched. Shikamaru, however, only seems disinterested, and is looking up at him with defiant eyes. Shikaku doesn't remember ever being defiant. He doesn't remember anyone being defiant. In times of war, it's never good to fight amongst your villagers.

"Do you want to be a shinobi?" He spats.

Shikamaru nods, "I don't."

Taken back, Shikaku blinks, "Why?"

"It's too troublesome," he muses. "I'd rather be a philosopher."

Now, even if Shikaku knew that normal seven-years old don't talk like that (which he doesn't), the sentence still threw him off. He's a genius! He could be a general, a war hero, a _Hokage_… Why wouldn't he want to?

Something triggers in his head, and he realizes that he's thinking just like the superiors do. He wants to take the talents of a child, and bend and twist them for his own doings. He doesn't care about Shikamaru's dreams right now; he doesn't care about Shikamaru's thoughts. All he can care about is how he can change the world.

It's as if Shikamaru read his mind.

"Do you get it now?" Shikamaru sneered. "I do want to be a shinobi, for Chouji if nothing else. But I'll do things my way, and do them to the best I can do them. I won't do it for you; I won't do it for the village. I have my dreams, and you have yours." The seven-year old then stalks away, probably going to Chouji's house to avoid Yoshino.

He feels ashamed. It's as if his son, his _seven-year old _son, is scolding him, a grown man. He sighs, running his hand though his hair, tracing one of the scars on his cheekbone. Unlike Shikamaru, Shikaku never had a childhood.

He can't help but think about what Shikamaru thinks of him. He probably thinks that his old man is conservative, evil, and is only out for what he thinks is right. Although, he doesn't want to be that kind of father. He wants to be like Chouza, who Chouji can only look up to and see a guardian figure. Or even Inochi, who Ino praises day and night, and runs to him when he comes home, unwilling to let go.

Shikaku, however, had become the cynical father in his son's eyes. He loves Shikamaru, he does, it's just… he has a hard time with things he doesn't understand, and children are not his strong point. And he can't approach Shikamaru about it, because he's afraid of what he'll do.

He's afraid to hear the truth: that his son hates him, and can do fine without him. He's a child who would rather watch the sky than hug his father. Shikaku doesn't blame him. He wishes he could have valued his dreams and himself when he was younger, like his son does.

It kills him to watch Shikamaru grow up and feel pain in the shinobi world. He tries to reconcile with him, but every time he tries, he makes Shikamaru cry (like after they lost that Sasuke kid to Orochimaru), or all he can do is bicker with him.

As years go on, he tries to tell Shikamaru he's proud of him, because he is, and he always has been. However, this comes out at the wrong time, after Asuma's death, and Shikamaru is furious. He can't talk, and he can't think clearly. The only thing his father can do for him is let him cry it out alone, and hope he's okay.

Hoping seems to get him nowhere when war breaks out. Everyone is sent off, and Shikamaru is out of Shikaku's reach. He himself is sent to the headquarters as a strategist, but Shikamaru is in the Fourth Division. He can't protect him, like he wants to. And if things go haywire, he'll never live to understand what Shikamaru saw in the sky. Dreams? Answers? What did he mean?

He doesn't get in answer. His heart pounds like a drum, his mind running a mile a minute. Inochi has a single tear falling from his eye, and he doesn't blame his old friend. They're going to die any second now, and there is so little time to tell the troops the plan. If they don't, the world is doomed.

Shikaku silently relays the plan to the troops, but his lip his quivering. He is a shinobi, and shinobi don't cry, but all he can think about is Yoshino's smile, and Chouza, who will be the last of the original Ino-Shika-Chou group. Most of all, however, he realizes that he could never be the father Shikamaru needed, that he wanted. He was cruel and cold, and he can never go back. He can never go back and watch with Shikamaru instead of asking him why he was.

All he ever did with the kid was play Shougi. That is nothing to him, nothing at all.

_I'm sorry that all I ever did for you was play Shougi, _Shikaku admitted to his son, probably the last words he will ever say to him.

There is sadness running wild through Shikamaru's head, but through Inochi's abilities, he can sense something else: gratitude.

_No, dad, _Shikamaru slowly spoke. _It was enough. After all, I was always watching your back._

His eyes widened, his breath shaky. Inochi absent-mindedly reaches for Shikaku's hand as a source of comfort, but before he can even think of taking it, it's all over.

He doesn't need to understand what Shikamaru saw in the sky; because it was enough for him to understand what was in Shikamaru's heart.


	11. Haku

**Shallow Days, Dead Skies Ahead  
Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

**A/N: **Sorry for the long wait! Exams were a killer (four in one day? You might as well shoot me) and honestly inspiration left me with his things. It's been a rough time between us, but I think the two of us can sort it out. In any case – enjoy! Haku is one of my favorite characters!

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Haku  
"**Purpose**"**

**OoOoOoOoO**

Haku didn't understand why Zabuza wanted him in the first place. When the masked man looked down at him the first day they'd met, snow on his shoulders, hunger in his eyes, Haku knew Zabuza wanted him. For what reason he didn't know – he was a disgrace to the world, having a Kekkei Genkai.

He might as well have been marked, the way people looked at him as if he were trash. Which, he was. He was trash without a home, a purpose, or even a family. He had no important person, and obviously no one thought of him as important. In the world's eyes he was discarded trash, left to be forgotten. He would have been lucky if his memory remained.

Yet, in Zabuza's eyes, he saw no hatred or pain. In fact, he could see somewhere, lying layers underneath, that he had been forgotten, too. He was feared for his strength, his indifference; he was just like Haku.

Maybe that was why he craved for him. He wanted that acknowledgement of pain that Haku knew of all too well.

Then again, there were many other castaways to choose from in the world. The shinobi world was a cruel place full of villainous figures and fearful citizens. Surely with these factors others would be cast aside as well, right? Why would Zabuza settle for Haku when he could have better, more experienced allies?

Why did Zabuza choose him, a rat in the gutter, of all people? Why was it him that was granted purpose in Zabuza's world? Why was Haku given privilege to Zabuza's eyes to behold, him and him alone? There were better choices. There were people without the demonic curse of a bloodline.

Well, maybe since Zabuza was known as the Demon of the Mist he would only need demons for companions. Those who had strayed from the path of light – but when did Haku ever fall into darkness? Was he merely born with it? Was he unaware of the hell that coursed through his veins?

Zabuza never gave him an answer, nor did he ever ask. It was an unsettled agreement between the two of them. Zabuza merely asked for his loyalty and usefulness, and he gave it without a further question. After all, the Demon of the Mist gave him what he'd always craved for – an important person, one to always cherish and protect.

Still, it always left him wondering why he was chosen of all the people in the world. Even though Zabuza treated Haku like he was an annoying, bothersome thing sometimes, he always came through in the end for him. He always made Haku feel special, like he was there for a reason, a purpose. But what was Haku's purpose, anyway?

To protect, to comfort, to be loyal and follow out every command – were those his purpose? Haku was to be a tool, without emotions or love or want. He was to merely follow and obey, like a dog of sorts.

People would ask him how he could be content with these burdens, like Uzumaki Naruto. How could he be? His only purpose was to serve. His own dreams were meaningless to Zabuza, yet he was content. With Zabuza, Haku could be content. With only one person in the world out of millions, he was perfectly okay with it, and all of the bloodshed and heartache that came along with it.

But why? How could he be content like this? How could he be content knowing he was a tool, and with all of the people in the world, how could he live with how he could be easily replaced? Why was he content with all of these surviving factors?

The answer dawned on Haku only seconds after Zabuza had asked him to join him: he was content because of that purpose. Without the purpose, he was garbage. Zabuza saved him from being alone, a nothing. He saved Haku from himself and the rest of the forbidding world.

That was why Haku was content. Because even if he were just a tool, it was better than being a nothing, a nobody. It was better than loneliness, and better than the painful memories. With Zabuza, Haku could be something of use in the world. Without him, Haku was nothing again.

Poppycock to the people who thought Haku knew nothing. He knew his purpose, he knew his place, and he knew exactly who he was doing it for.

He was doing it for Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist, the wielder of the Executioner's Blade, and the keeper of Haku's heart.


	12. Namikaze Menma

**Shallow Days, Dead Skies Ahead  
Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto

**A/N: **I just watched the Shippuden movie _Road to Ninja_, and I absolutely fell in love with Menma! The other Naruto characters were okay in the parallel world, but I just love Menma. He's so cute and hot and stuff! Plus, his character is just too cool. So, this is for him!

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Namikaze Menma  
"**Falling into Darkness**"**

**OoOoOoOoO**

They always told him that the Fourth Hokage, Haruno Kizashi, made the greatest sacrifice for the village when he died sixteen years ago, sealing the Kyuubi into him, an innocent child.

What no one understands is that Menma was the one who had suffered, not him. His sacrifice, his burden, was to live and become a weapon for the village. His entire life was revolved around the fact that he was a monster, and that he was different, and that no one could possibly understand… not even his parents.

Oh, they tried to pretend like they knew him. _"You can always come to us," _his father reminded him time and time again. _"We understand."_

"Understand?!" Is what he wanted to scream. He wanted to tell them off, saying that they didn't know what it was like waking up every couple of hours due to horrible, Kyuubi-induced nightmares; and that they didn't know what it was like to go to school knowing everyone hated you for something you never did.

And they wonder why he ever left the village.

_Good riddance – _it's the only thing he thinks when he's standing on a high hill, looking out over the village. No one ever wanted him because he was Menma – oh, no, they wanted him because he was the host of the nine-tails Jinchuuriki. They wanted him because he had power, and that he could prove useful in a time of war. They wanted him because he could be a great sacrifice one day.

As if he hadn't sacrificed enough.

No one understands; and this isn't a pity statement, it's the truth. No one can really ever know what it's like to be lonely like him. Sure, Haruno Sakura doesn't have parents, but she has a lot of caring friends. The same goes for Inuzuka Kiba, who got kicked out of his clan for his obsession of cats and profound hatred of dogs. People like them go home alone, but it's better than going everywhere alone.

His parents' fear him like the village does. Kushina will say things like, "_Ky-Kyuubi? Oh, sweety, you have such an overactive imagination – just like your father, I guess! No, t-there's no such thing anymore… after all, Kizashi-sama stopped it…"_

Her voice trails off and she tries to find an excuse, but they can both see through it. Either she was really trying to shelter him, or she was afraid. Menma supposed it was the latter. After all, everyone hated him. And even if they seemed like they liked him, like Sasuke, he knew they were silently cursing him away.

They all wished he were gone. He might as well fulfill that final demand of theirs.

He pushes himself up off the rock he was standing on, a heavy feeling in his chest and a lump in his throat. No, he doesn't care about them; he cares about the _idea _of them. What if things had been different? What if he could be happy? The very thought disgusts him – him, happy? It's a dream, like everything else is.

A sob escapes him as he turns away. This would be the part where someone chases after him, right? Would it be Hinata, who was openly in love with him and would destroy anyone to have him? Would it be Sakura, the hero's daughter who would do anything in the name of her village and her friends? Or would it be Sasuke, his so-called best friend who was probably hooking up with a horde of girls right now.

He pauses in his step, his eyes closed, waiting for someone to come by and tell him to stay. He wanted to hear that he had a place in their hearts, that he would be missed.

Four minutes pass, but no one comes.

Swearing lightly to himself, Menma continues forward, undisturbed by anyone.

_Screw it, _he thinks bitterly. _I'm not going down without a fight. If they think they've seen the last of me, they're _dead _wrong. _

The further he walks from the village, the further he walks into darkness.


End file.
